People, Connecting People.

I often find myself pondering the little things in life. Often it stops at that with no real “pondering-to-actioning” process following. A reiterated thought I have long had, and often, well, pondered about, almost like the curiosity of the proverbial cat, is this: Why do people have to TRY to network? Why can they just not MEET people, and if they connect, they connect.

I have often seen this happen time and time again. Friends and colleagues go to x, y, and z conventions, wanting to network with x, y, and z persons and it seems in the majority of the cases, it is networking for the sake of networking. Whether it be that alpha male “Look at my contacts list, impressive right?” or the average Joe “I want to network for opportunities to take me out of the rut I am in”.

This is by no means a scientific research, or in fact nuclear physicist level education thinking, but shouldn't networking be about connecting? And doesn't connection happen in everyday situations? The person on the metro/underground/the 'L' (whichever part of town you’re in) that is, like you, people watching and creating weird and wonderful stories in their head, or the stressed out looking individual having a few shots of espresso whilst juggling a newspaper, an iPad, a laptop, two phones and their keys, or the excited human running from the office for a well-deserved cold/hot beverage?

In my experience, it is most natural, and therefore, most genuine, when it is by chance. It shows your calibre, your personality shines, and again, I re-iterate, in my experience, creates longer lasting relationships that mean more than ‘networking for the sake of networking’. It is not a science, it is not a game, and it is not a race. It is merely people connecting to get to know each other, to make time go by on that journey to work, in that cold/hot beverage institution.

My ponder-to-action is this; don’t TRY way too hard to make an impression with certain people. Just meet people. You will be surprised who you meet and what opportunities arise as a result, what relationships flourish, or in the very least, how that journey to/from work will fly past.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this isn't science, or a guide book to how to network. It is simply something to ponder about and to implement if you choose to do so. I will not post a 1-10 how-to guide, life has no script, no ‘one ring to rule them all’ so to speak. All this is, is that one stone that causes infinite ripples across a lake of humans as it jumps across life’s hurdles.

(Photos: mitchellfrom.com and eebrinker.wordpress.com)

Ryan Bibbey

Transformational Technology Leader

10 年

I often find myself in the same position, pondering these life interactions. I tend to avoid networking because it stresses me out, and often feel like I should do a better job of it. Ironically, I tend to fall into a rut when I go too long without that human interaction as well. The older I get the more I realize that the contrived and forced interaction is what really stresses me out, that not everyone is going to like me or what I have to say, and that it's okay. It's about the natural interactions, the organic "mesh" you find in others.

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